Archive for February, 2006

Contractors have just finished cleaning up the site of a former flamethrower range in Butner, North Carolina. The project is one small part of a larger cleanup needed to dispose of leftover munitions and debris from a World War II training facility. The training camp was shut down almost 60 years ago. But increasing development in and around Granville County has turned up unexploded shells and other hazardous material. With Federal dollars hard to come by, the entire cleanup will probably take years to complete. Rrusty Jacobs reports.

A new center dedicated to economic and cultural exchange with China opened in Raleigh over the weekend. The China Center is the latest effort in this state to profit off the growing economy in the greater China region. Some say it is long overdue. Leoneda Inge reports.

Every year in North Carolina, accidents at construction sites kill between 20 and 40 people. A disproportionate number of those deaths are of Spanish speaking workers. The State\’s Labor department is concerned some contractors aren\’t treating Hispanic workers ethically by failing to explain safety procedures through a translator. Lorne Matalon reports.

It’s been three months since senior citizens and the disabled could begin signing-up for the Federal Government’s newest Medicare prescription-drug benefit plans. Medicare Part D was established to help improve access to health care for the country’s most vulnerable citizens. But critics say there are seniors – and even many pharmacists – around the country who are having trouble maneuvering the drug sign-up process. For the elderly who are also poor, Medicare Part D could be a god-send – if only they were enrolled. Leoneda Inge reports:

The number of homeless people in the Triangle has gone down for the second year in a row. That’s according to an annual census of homeless people that was released yesterday. But advocates for the homeless warn against taking too much good news from the numbers. Rose Hoban reports.